Disabled people demand guards on trains

We the undersigned disabled people and allies call for every train to have a safety-critical guard, in order to ensure our access and safety.

Disabled People for Guards!We, the undersigned, demand that all trains are staffed with Guards who are safety critical for all journeys.One thing that has become very apparent since the onset of Driver-Only Operated (DOO) trains has been the deplorable lack of freedom to travel. In addition Southern Rail has announced that it is withdrawing turn-up-and-go assistance from 33 stations across its network.Disabled and vulnerable people have been put at risk by the lack of support on the train. A spokesman for Transport for All said: ‘Whether it’s assistance failing to turn up, inaccessible platforms or a lack of accessible facilities on trains, what is clear is that our railways are failing disabled and older passengers.'Faryal Velmi, director of Transport for All, said: ‘It’s shameful that Southern Rail is allowing disabled passengers to bear the brunt of their failures to deliver a reliable service. We have heard daily from disabled transport users stranded on freezing platforms or forced to crawl onto trains when rail companies have failed to assist them.’Enough is Enough! We, Disabled People for Guards and our supporters demand that Guards be reinstated on all trains. We demand that we be allowed to be able to travel when and where we want for the price of a ticket. We should not be required to notify anyone in advance of our intention to travel. And that can only be ensured by the presence of a Safety Critical Guard on every train.